Jack Tatum Dies Of A Heart Attack

Jack Tatum, who won a national championship at Ohio State in 1968, died Tuesday at age 61. (

Tatum was recruited by Woody Hayes to play at Ohio State were he earned first-team All-Big n in 1968, 1969, and 1970. He was part of a Buckeyes team that won the national championship in 1968 and finished 27-2 as a starter. In 1970, he was voted the National Defensive Player of the Year. He finished in seventh place that year for the Heisman Trophy.

After college, he played for nine season in the NFL, mainly with the Oakland Raiders, where he was nicknamed “The Assassin”. His hit on New England Patriots’ Darryl Stingley left him the wide receiver paralyzed.

Tatum was inducted into the Ohio State Varsity O Hall of Fame in 1981 and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

He suffered from diabetes and had five toes amputated from his left foot.

Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel gave this statement on the passing of Jack Tatum: “We have lost one of our greatest Buckeyes. When you think of Ohio State defense, the first name that comes to mind is Jack Tatum. His loss touches every era of Ohio State players and fans.”